Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a reply brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday defending the state’s congressional redistricting map. The filing comes days after Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay, halting the lower court’s order from taking effect.
The legal battle centers on Texas’s congressional boundaries, with plaintiffs challenging the maps in federal court. Paxton describes the challengers as liberal activists seeking to overturn the Legislature’s work. Control over the map ahead of the next election cycle remains at stake.
The dispute escalated after a district court blocked Texas from using its enacted map. Paxton appealed to the Supreme Court on November 21 and requested an emergency stay.
Within hours, Justice Alito granted temporary relief by issuing an administrative stay. Plaintiffs then submitted responses, prompting Monday’s reply from the Texas Attorney General’s office.
“The radical Left is attempting to abuse the judicial system to steal the U.S. House, but we will be relentless in defending our state’s right to draw our own maps and chart our own political destiny,” Paxton said. “The map I’m defending is exactly what Texas needs to ensure better representation of our conservative values and the political ideology of our state’s voters.”
Paxton accused Democrats of hypocrisy on gerrymandering. “Blue states have gerrymandered their districts for decades. Only now, when Republicans draw maps to ensure our states are properly represented, do the Democrats have an issue with this political strategy and baselessly attack us with false ‘racism’ accusations.”
The Supreme Court must now decide whether to extend the stay while it considers the full appeal. The outcome could determine whether Texas uses its current congressional map in the upcoming election.